PRESS RELEASE: Anadys Pharmaceuticals Appoints Steve Worland, Ph.D. as President and CEO

Anadys Pharmaceuticals Appoints Steve Worland, Ph.D. as President and CEO

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 24 -- Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , a biopharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of novel medicines for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and cancer, today announced that Steve Worland, Ph.D. has been promoted to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer, replacing Lawrence C. Fritz, Ph.D. who plans to pursue other opportunities. Dr. Worland has also been appointed as a member of the Company's Board of Directors.

Dr. Worland joined Anadys in March 2001 as Chief Scientific Officer and most recently served as President, Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining the Company, Dr. Worland was Vice President, Head of Antiviral Research, at Agouron Pharmaceuticals, a Pfizer Company and was also a Vice President at Warner-Lambert prior to the acquisition by Pfizer.

"We are pleased to appoint Steve as President and CEO," said George A. Scangos, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board. "Steve has been intimately involved in building Anadys since its early days, knows the ANA773 and ANA598 programs in detail, and has the right skills and experience to lead the Company as it pursues the development of these two programs. The current focus for Anadys is to aggressively advance these projects, focus on execution and meet our objectives. Steve, who has evolved into a business and scientific leader, is perfectly positioned to lead the Company in pursuit of these goals. We remain on track to file an IND for ANA773 this year and an IND for ANA598 in the first half of 2008."

"I would like to thank Larry for his service and contributions to Anadys and wish him well with his future endeavors," added Dr. Scangos. "Larry has played a key role at Anadys during the last year as the Company has evolved to focus on its two development stage programs -- ANA598 for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection and ANA773 for the treatment of cancer."

"I remain impressed with the Anadys team and optimistic about the projects," said Dr. Fritz. "Steve Worland is an extremely capable individual who has all the skills to lead the Company forward, and I wish him and the Company all the best."

About Anadys

Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing patient care by developing and commercializing novel small molecule medicines for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and cancer. The Company is developing ANA598, a small-molecule, non-nucleoside inhibitor of the NS5b polymerase for the treatment of HCV and ANA773, an oral TLR7 agonist prodrug for cancer.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature constitute "forward-looking statements." Such statements include, but are not limited to, references to the expected timing and planned development activities for ANA598 and ANA773. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause Anadys' actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For example, the results of in vitro studies and initial clinical trials may not be predictive of future results, and Anadys cannot provide any assurances that any of its product candidates will not have unforeseen safety issues, will have favorable results in future clinical trials or will receive regulatory approval. In addition, Anadys' results may be affected by risks related to its agreements with Novartis and LG Life Sciences, competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, its effectiveness at managing its financial resources, its ability to successfully develop and market products, difficulties or delays in its pre-clinical studies or clinical trials, difficulties or delays in manufacturing its clinical trials materials, the scope and validity of patent protection for its products, regulatory developments involving future products and its ability to obtain additional funding to support its operations. Risk factors that may cause actual results to differ are more fully discussed in Anadys' SEC filings, including Anadys' Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 and Anadys' Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2007. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Anadys is providing this information as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.